Alberic I of Spoleto
Encyclopedia
Alberic I was the Lombard
duke of Spoleto from between 896 and 900 until 920, 922, or thereabouts. He first appears as a page
to Guy III of Spoleto
at the Battle on the Trebbia in 889 He may have later been the count of Fermo
or margrave of Camerino
, but whatever the case, he succeeded to Spoleto after murdering Duke Guy IV
.
He was recognised soon by King Berengar I
, with whom he fought the Magyars in 899 or 900. Alberic allied with his neighbour, the margrave of Tuscany
Adalbert II
, against Pope Sergius III
. The two then blocked the road to Rome
to prevent Berengar's imperial coronation in 906 or 907. His alliance with the Crescentii
of Tusculum
was very advantageous. By his marriage to Marozia
, the daughter of Theodora and Theophylact I, Count of Tusculum
, he received the title of "patrician
of the Romans," patricius Romanorum.
Most famously perhaps, Alberic was one of the three great leaders of the Christian League which defeated the Saracens at the Battle of the Garigliano in June 915. He led his troops from Spoleto and Camerino with those of Theophylact of Tusculum to join with Pope John X
—and his contingent from Latium
and Adalbert of Tuscany—and Nicholas Picingli
, the strategos of Bari
, leading the Byzantine forces
and Lombard and Greek princes of the South: Guaimar II of Salerno
, Landulf I of Benevento
, Atenulf II of Capua
, John I
and the later Docibilis II of Gaeta
, and Gregory IV
and the later John II of Naples
. Even Berengar sent a contingent from La Marche. The battle went famously and many a petty prince received titles of great honour. Alberic was appointed the "consul
of the Romans" in 917 .
He became, however, a tyrant in the Eternal City and people and pope expelled him. He was subsequently murdered in Orte
between 924 or 926, probably because of his reliance on marauding Hungarians who supported his power. The dates of his downfall and death are as uncertain as those of his rise. He last appears in a datable document of 917, the Liber largitorius of Farfa Abbey. He had three or four sons by Marozia:
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
duke of Spoleto from between 896 and 900 until 920, 922, or thereabouts. He first appears as a page
Page (servant)
A page or page boy is a traditionally young male servant, a messenger at the service of a nobleman or royal.-The medieval page:In medieval times, a page was an attendant to a knight; an apprentice squire...
to Guy III of Spoleto
Guy III of Spoleto
Guy of Spoleto , sometimes known by the Italian version of his name, Guido, or by the German version, Wido, was the Margrave of Camerino from 880 and then Duke of Spoleto and Camerino from 883. He was crowned King of Italy in 889 and Holy Roman Emperor in 891...
at the Battle on the Trebbia in 889 He may have later been the count of Fermo
Fermo
Fermo is a town and comune of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo.Fermo is located on a hill, the Sabulo with a fine view, on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway....
or margrave of Camerino
Camerino
Camerino is a small town of 7.135 inhabitants in the Marches , in the province of Macerata, Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about 40 miles from Ancona....
, but whatever the case, he succeeded to Spoleto after murdering Duke Guy IV
Guy IV of Spoleto
Guy IV was the Duke of Spoleto and Camerino from 889 and Prince of Benevento from 895. He was the son of Guy II of Spoleto....
.
He was recognised soon by King Berengar I
Berengar I of Italy
Berengar of Friuli was the Margrave of Friuli from 874 until no earlier than 890 and no later than 896, King of Italy from 887 until his death, and Holy Roman Emperor from 915 until his death.Berengar rose to become one of the most influential laymen in the empire of Charles the Fat before he...
, with whom he fought the Magyars in 899 or 900. Alberic allied with his neighbour, the margrave of Tuscany
Rulers of Tuscany
The rulers of Tuscany have varied over time, sometimes being margraves, the rulers of handfuls of border counties and sometimes the heads of the most important family of the region.-Margraves of Tuscany, 812–1197:House of Boniface*Boniface I, 812-813...
Adalbert II
Adalbert II of Tuscany
Adalbert II , called the Rich, son and successor of Adalbert I of Tuscany, and grandson of Boniface II, was much concerned in the troubles of Lombardy, at a time when so many princes were contending for the wrecks of the Carolingian Empire. Before his father died in 884 or 886, he is accredited the...
, against Pope Sergius III
Pope Sergius III
Pope Sergius III was a pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 29 January 904 to 14 April 911. Because Sergius III was possibly the only pope known to have ordered the murder of another pope and the only pope to have fathered an illegitimate son who later became pope , his reign has been described...
. The two then blocked the road to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
to prevent Berengar's imperial coronation in 906 or 907. His alliance with the Crescentii
Crescentii
The Crescentii clan — if they were an extended family — essentially ruled Rome and controlled the Papacy from the middle of the 10th century until the nearly simultaneous deaths of their puppet pope Sergius IV and the patricius of the clan in 1012.-History:Several individuals named Crescentius who...
of Tusculum
Counts of Tusculum
The counts of Tusculum were the most powerful secular noblemen in Latium, near Rome, in the present-day Italy between the 10th and 12th centuries. Several popes and an antipope during the 11th century came from their ranks. They created and perfected the political formula of noble-papacy, wherein...
was very advantageous. By his marriage to Marozia
Marozia
Marozia, born Maria and also known as Mariuccia or Mariozza , was a Roman noblewoman who was the alleged mistress of Pope Sergius III and was given the unprecedented titles senatrix and patricia of Rome by Pope John X.Edward Gibbon wrote of her that the "influence of two sister prostitutes,...
, the daughter of Theodora and Theophylact I, Count of Tusculum
Theophylact I, Count of Tusculum
Theophylact I was a medieval Count of Tusculum who served Louis III, Holy Roman Emperor as judex and then was elected to head Rome as consul by the city's nobility in 915, an appointment that was confirmed by the Pope. He also was styled as senator, glorissimus dux, judex dativus, and magister...
, he received the title of "patrician
Patricianship
Patricianship, the quality of belonging to a patriciate, began in the ancient world, where cities such as Ancient Rome had a class of patrician families whose members were the only people allowed to exercise many political functions...
of the Romans," patricius Romanorum.
Most famously perhaps, Alberic was one of the three great leaders of the Christian League which defeated the Saracens at the Battle of the Garigliano in June 915. He led his troops from Spoleto and Camerino with those of Theophylact of Tusculum to join with Pope John X
Pope John X
Pope John X, Pope from March 914 to May 928, was deacon at Bologna when he attracted the attention of Theodora, the wife of Theophylact, Count of Tusculum, the most powerful noble in Rome, through whose influence he was elevated first to the see of Bologna and then to the archbishopric of...
—and his contingent from Latium
Latium
Lazio is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy, situated in the central peninsular section of the country. With about 5.7 million residents and a GDP of more than 170 billion euros, Lazio is the third most populated and the second richest region of Italy...
and Adalbert of Tuscany—and Nicholas Picingli
Nicholas Picingli
Nicholas Picingli was the Byzantine strategos of Bari in the thema of Langobardia, who led the Byzantine contingent of the Christian League in the Battle of Garigliano in 915 during the Byzantine–Arab Wars....
, the strategos of Bari
Bari
Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...
, leading the Byzantine forces
Byzantine army
The Byzantine army was the primary military body of the Byzantine armed forces, serving alongside the Byzantine navy. A direct descendant of the Roman army, the Byzantine army maintained a similar level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization...
and Lombard and Greek princes of the South: Guaimar II of Salerno
Guaimar II of Salerno
Guaimar II was the Lombard prince of Salerno from 901, when his father retired to a monastery, to his death. His father was Guaimar I and his mother was Itta. He was associated with his father in the principality from 893...
, Landulf I of Benevento
Landulf I of Benevento
Landulf I , sometimes called Antipater, was a Lombard nobleman and the Prince of Benevento and of Capua from 12 January 901, when his father, Atenulf I, prince of Capua and conqueror of Benevento, associated his with him in power...
, Atenulf II of Capua
Atenulf II of Benevento
Atenulf II was the younger brother of Prince Landulf I of Benevento, who associated him with the government in June 910 or 911 .In 909, Landulf went to Constantinople to receive the titles of anthypatos and...
, John I
John I of Gaeta
John I was the second hypatus of Gaeta of his dynasty, a son of Dociblis I and Matrona, and perhaps the greatest of medieval Gaetan rulers....
and the later Docibilis II of Gaeta
Docibilis II of Gaeta
Docibilis II was the ruler of Gaeta, in one capacity or another, from 906 until his death. He was the son of the hypatus John I, who made him co-ruler in 906 or thereabouts....
, and Gregory IV
Gregory IV of Naples
Gregory IV was the firstborn son of Duke Sergius II of Naples and successor of his paternal uncle, Bishop Athanasius, in 898, when he was elected dux, or magister militum, unanimously by the aristocracy. His other paternal uncle, Stephen, succeeded Athanasius as bishop...
and the later John II of Naples
John II of Naples
John II was the duke of Naples from 915 to his death. He succeeded his father Gregory IV on the latter's death late in 915.He had accompanied his father to the Battle of the Garigliano under Nicholas Picingli, where the Christian coalition defeated the Moslems of the fortress on the Garigliano....
. Even Berengar sent a contingent from La Marche. The battle went famously and many a petty prince received titles of great honour. Alberic was appointed the "consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
of the Romans" in 917 .
He became, however, a tyrant in the Eternal City and people and pope expelled him. He was subsequently murdered in Orte
Orte
Orte is a comune in the province of Viterbo, in the Italian region Latium Lazio, located about 60 km north of Rome and about 24 km east of Viterbo. As of 31 December 2006, Orte had a population of 8,364....
between 924 or 926, probably because of his reliance on marauding Hungarians who supported his power. The dates of his downfall and death are as uncertain as those of his rise. He last appears in a datable document of 917, the Liber largitorius of Farfa Abbey. He had three or four sons by Marozia:
- Alberic IIAlberic II of SpoletoAlberic II was ruler of Rome from 932 to 954, after deposing his mother Marozia and his stepfather, King Hugh of Italy.He was of the house of the Counts of Tusculum, the son of the notorious Marozia by her first husband, Alberic I, Duke of Spoleto. His half-brother was Pope John XI...
, who was later prince of Rome - Constantino (d. after January 14, 945)
- Sergio, bishop of Nepi (d. before 963)
- and possibly also Pope John XIPope John XIPope John XI was a Pope from March 931 to December 935.-Parentage:The parentage of John XI is still a matter of dispute. According to Liutprand of Cremona and the "Liber Pontificalis," he was the natural son of Pope Sergius III , Pope John XI (910? – December 935) was a Pope from March 931 (at...
(many sources consider him illegitimate son of Pope Sergius IIIPope Sergius IIIPope Sergius III was a pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 29 January 904 to 14 April 911. Because Sergius III was possibly the only pope known to have ordered the murder of another pope and the only pope to have fathered an illegitimate son who later became pope , his reign has been described...
).